It wasn't until he saw Jiang Hao issue the military order to send troops that Yang Zhaofeng was as tight as an iron stone. The generals and soldiers in the big tent of the Chinese army gradually dispersed, and he couldn't help but think of the story that Mu Gongchun told at the festival hall.

At the end of the Qin Dynasty, Chu and Han fought, and Liu Bang, the king of Han, faced heavy pressure from the Chu soldiers in front, but Zhang Er and Han Xin in the rear had different ambitions, and they did not move forward, as if they had plans to ride the wall. In order to avoid future troubles, Liu Bang led the army out of Chenggao to cross the Yellow River to the east, only took his henchman Xiahou Ying, and rode to the military camps of Zhang Er and Han Xin in Xiuwu, and entered the camp in the name of the envoy of the Han army. Zhang and Han were shocked, but the wood was already in the boat, the military power changed hands, and Liu Bangyou solved the problem of his henchmen.

Mu Gongchun wanted Yang Zhaofeng to do the same. But the slight difference is that Jiang Hao's military power is not from the Hongguang Imperial Court, but from his own family or the remnants of the old dynasty, and it is not enough to convince the public with his own waist card sigil. Yang Zhaofeng could only choose to directly control Jiang Hao himself and order his army, if not, the only way to do it would be to burn the jade. But Jiang Hao, as the commander of tens of thousands of soldiers and horses in Datong Mansion, must be extremely protected around him, and a single horse forcibly breaking into such a forbidden place is a hundred times more dangerous than fighting against the water, and people with both wisdom and courage cannot succeed. Fortunately, Yang Zhaofeng succeeded, or rather, his sudden appearance gave Jiang Jiu, who was originally swaying and hesitating, the last thrust.

In front of the eyes of thousands of soldiers, Jiang Hao made up his mind, and said in a loud voice: "The Tartar is at the door of the house, and we are waiting for the Ming courtiers to protect the family and defend the country, how can we cower and let their beast soldiers run rampant?" With me Jiang Jiu here, the tragic situation in Guangling County will never happen again! ”

When the soldiers heard this, they all raised their arms and shouted "kill the Tartars". At that time, with the big tent of the Chinese army as the center, the shouts in the sky above the barracks outside Xujiazhuang Fort for several miles soared into the sky, and the morale was high.

Although Jiang Hao said that he was determined to fight against the Qing army, Datong Mansion was his foundation after all, and it was an important place for money and grain hoarding, and tens of thousands of soldiers and horses had a heavy responsibility to defend the territory, so they could not go out to support the front line. When Yang Zhaofeng heard him say this, he thought that he wanted to play a trick in front of him and behind his back, and said coldly: "If you don't send troops, what's the point of me coming to the camp?" ”

"Yang joins the army, this is wrong." Jiang Xuan shook his head, "Although you are close to me, but at that time, my soldiers were all around, as long as you secretly sent crossbow arrows, you would not be able to escape, but I didn't do this, why not?" It's just because you and I both work for the Ming Dynasty and share the same hatred. Although my Jiang Jiu's arrows are sharp and my horses are fast, I never hurt my own people. ”

If it is said that he was deterred by Yang Zhaofeng to make a decision, it is better to say that Yang Zhaofeng's performance of not fearing life and death for the sake of Daming moved him. His heart is towards Daming, but he has been in a dilemma due to the situation before. On the one hand, loyalty, filial piety, and righteousness, on the other hand, there is safety and welfare, and it is really difficult to choose between them. However, Yang Zhaofeng's actions made him a slap in the face, especially the sentence "Do you want to be a loyal minister or a traitor", which was even more like an enlightenment, which made him suddenly realize that not everyone in this world is like him. For example, Sun Chuanting, Hou Dagui and even this Yang Zhaofeng, they all have firm beliefs in their hearts, and they are willing to work hard for their beliefs, and they are always decisive.

Since Sun Chuanting and Hou Dagui's armies left one after another, Jiang Xuan, who seemed to be hiding in the rear unharmed, has suffered no less in his heart than they seem to be fighting bloody battles on the front line and facing thousands of difficulties. Hung by a steel wire, he didn't dare to go up or down, and only he knew the feeling in his own heart. Now, since the head is hot and has chosen a position, instead of being capricious and spurned, it is better to go out and do a career for Daming.

"General Manager Hou led the army to rescue Chaigou Fort, went deep behind the enemy, and expected to relieve the siege of Sun Chuanting, and the two armies would be combined, which would give the Tartars a heavy blow. General Jiang went to Zhenyuwei to meet with our army and cooperate with General Hou, but the Tartars could not care about each other. Don't hesitate any longer. Yang Zhaofeng himself didn't know the actual situation of Hou Daguijun, so he only said on the bright side.

"I have to lead the troops to continue to defend Datong, but there are 5,000 horses in our army, which are elite, and I can go with Yang to join the army." Jiang Hao said in a deep voice. The local language of Datong Prefecture takes "dial" as the meaning of "agile", and its local dialect is more child-like after the pronunciation, so "dial" is "dial", and "dial horse" can be understood as a light and swift ride that comes and goes like the wind.

Jiang Huang's 5,000 horses and soldiers are his family's troops, most of the members are from the Mongolian tribes of Hetao, brave and brave, Jiang Huang in Datong Mansion more than 70% of the income is used to support them, it is not an exaggeration to say that they are the actual pillars of Datong Mansion. Jiang Hao handed over all the horses to Yang Zhaofeng, which was equivalent to standing in the Ming camp with an iron heart.

The main general of the horse is Wang Fu's minister, the son of Wang Jinchao, who has met the fierce general and Jiang Huang's general Wang Jinchao. He saw Yang Zhaofeng and said resolutely: "Yang joins the army, rest assured, your and our two armies are one, advance and retreat together, and live and die together." ”

The front-line military is urgent, and Yang Zhaofeng did not stay in the Jiang Jiu military camp for too long, and when the five thousand horses were ready, he led the army out of the camp with Wang Fu's ministers. Before leaving, Yang Zhaofeng said to Jiang Hao, who came to see him off: "General Jiang is unswerving, and he will definitely be known to the world, and the court will be aware of everything, and he will be rewarded soon." ”

Jiang Hao smiled bitterly: "Jiang doesn't ask for a reward, he only asks Yang to join the army to fight with our army to fight the enemy and protect the peace." With that, he bowed and bowed.

Yang Zhaofeng nodded, stopped talking, and galloped away. Wang Fu's ministers brought the horses are all lightly armored and light horses, and they are extremely mobile, and now they set off, Yang Zhaofeng estimates that they will be able to arrive at the Acropolis tomorrow at noon. A few long shouts, the sound of cymbals, people and horses moved together, and threw themselves to the northeast.

At noon the next day, the battle of the town guards was carried out on the third day.

Looking down at the corpses in the wilderness outside the city, Han Gon felt the fear of collapse for the first time in his life. The source of fear is not death itself, but the anxiety that constantly invades the body and mind.

For three consecutive days, the Qing army launched more than 10 offensives, large and small, and now all the trenches outside the city have been filled, and the various units that the Ming army initially used to defend the field are unable to stop the pace of the Qing army's advance.

Among them, Zhang Xianbi and 2,000 people of Lu Yue's horse infantry army in front of the city gate were attacked by the main force of the Qing army, and suffered heavy casualties, so they had to retreat into the city before the last trench was filled. Even Zhang Xianbi, an officer in the Wuqi battalion, was too sudden in a defense, and was seriously wounded for the Qing army to fire a salvo, and Bai Wang took over the command of the Wuqi battalion. After Zhou Yuji and Ma Guangchun's two battalions of horse armies merged, they raided the Qing army digging the east gate several times, but they all repelled the soldiers and horses of the Qing army who were responsible for the protection, Baya Lama Zhang, Jingao Baibaturu, and could only retreat to the hillside outside the city and watch from afar.

So far, the Ming army defending the city still has a total of 2,000 people in the Wuyu Battalion, the Feijie Left Battalion and the Zhongguan Battalion, and the two battalions of the Feijie Right Battalion and the Changning Battalion outside the city, with a total of more than 3,000 soldiers and horses, and nearly half of the casualties.

On the other hand, the casualties of the Qing army were also not small, and the losses in hand-to-hand combat and bombardment by the city's birds and cannons also amounted to 2,000 people. But Rao is like this, the Qing army still has no intention of retreating, and only cares about moving forward. After each fierce battle, the Ming army always thought that the Qing army would retreat or temporarily reorganize, but the Qing army seemed to be tireless and dangerous puppeteers, and they immediately followed one after another, tenacious.

"Why haven't the Tartars returned?"

These words appeared in the hearts of almost every Ming army soldier in three days, who sacrificed their lives again and again to resist the tidal wave of attacks of the Qing army, but in exhaustion, there was no room for respite, and when they raised their eyes, they were the enemy who had returned, and their heartstrings were tense, almost suppressed by the heavy pressure.

"The Tartars have also died a lot, and the brethren hold on to their last breath, and reinforcements are coming!"

Bai Wang loudly encouraged the physically and mentally exhausted soldiers at the head of the city. After many battles, the only pillar that sustained the perseverance of the soldiers was the reinforcements that seemed to be about to arrive every time. In addition, the corpses of the Qing army, which were not a few in the bones, also gave some encouragement to the soldiers of the Ming army.

It turned out that the Qing army was also a mortal with a mother's womb, and when they were hit by the heavy artillery, they couldn't help but splash blood five steps and disappear.

"The Tartar has nothing to fear, if you fight, you will fight with him until you have a soldier, and the Acropolis can be defended!" Han Gon cheered them up when he summoned the officers in the city temporarily, as if he was ready to fight until the last breath. To this day, most of the soldiers also realize that the Qing army was not as invincible as it was rumored.

In fact, in order to promote the image of the mighty and invincible Manchurian warriors, the Qing army made great efforts to calculate the results of the battle. For example, in the Battle of Phi Dao in April of the tenth year of Chongzhen, after the war, the Qing court wrote vague words such as "40 people killed in battle, and the bones cannot be distinguished" in various records, but the actual casualties of the Qing army were more than six times this number - the Qing army lost 260 people in the Battle of Phi Dao, and the list is from the "Shengjing Manchu Original File", and there is a comment at the end of the "not written into the file", which shows that the whitewashing of the battle damage was deliberately instructed by the Qing army officials.

The best way to distinguish between truth and lie is to face it in person.

"The last breath, you must hang." Han Gon repeatedly emphasized, "The strength of the Tartars to endure war is extraordinary, although the thieves were brave before, they still lacked the spirit to fight to the death. We are not the old army of the previous dynasty, nor are we thieves, we are Zhao Yingbing, the Ming army of the new dynasty, and the strongest army in the world! ”

When everyone heard this, they especially heard the sentence "We are Zhao Yingbing, the Ming Army of the New Dynasty, and the strongest army in the world", all of them shook their hearts and suddenly gave birth to a wave of courage.

"Fuck the damn Tartar, one life to another, see whose life is hard!"

Under the leadership of Meng Aocao and Hu Keshou and other officers, more than 1,000 horses of the Feijie Zuo Battalion, who had been waiting in the city for several days, scolded and cursed and walked out of the side gate, shouting "Long live Zhao Ying" and "Long live the Ming Dynasty", which took the enemy by surprise and continuously attacked many Qing army positions outside the East Gate and the East City Gate, effectively hindering the progress of the Qing army's siege.

"My old Meng cut off two Tartar heads!" Back in the city, the panting Meng Aocao climbed up to the top of the city, and threw two pigtailed heads in front of the soldiers, although he was hit by several arrows, and the corners of his nostrils and mouth were bleeding, but he still opened his eyes angrily, and shouted with his arms folded, "Brothers are all well-known men, even if they are not as good as my old Meng, they are still better than half of Lao Meng, right?" Whoever doesn't cut off a Tartar's head and hold it in his hands is a! ”

Inspired by this, the morale of the Ming army was restored, and although the trenches outside the city had been leveled, the city's birds, artillery, and bows and crossbows fired volleys in turn, without any frustration, but even more fierce. The rain did not stop, the Qing army could not use artillery in the field, so they had to try to set up a ladder to attack the city, several attempts, all failed, Ma Guangchun and Zhou Yuji continued to attack on the flank, and the Qing army was quite constrained. The ups and downs of the war, between the ups and downs, slowly tilted in the direction favorable to the Ming army.

It was almost twilight, and the Qing army successively set up seven or eight ladders at the head of the city, and Han Gon personally supervised the battle at the head of the city.

The Qing army braved the endless shuttle like rain and arrows to climb the city, the first Qing army warriors wrapped in stone blue silk trimmed cotton armor, all over the brass nails, lined with blue cloth, armor sleeves, neck guards, ear guards and armor body are all white satin, anti-blue silk material. He wears a leather lacquered helmet with gourd-shaped copper leaves and a red helmet tassel. It looks like an iron tower, and it is stronger than a bear and a tiger.

Several Ming soldiers stabbed with spears, but although the Qing warriors were wearing heavy armor, they were very agile in the square inch. The Ming army was anxious, and the guns were messy, and the Qing army warrior grabbed the flaw, suddenly stretched out his arms, and tightly clamped several spears stabbed at the same time on the ladder under his armpits, and twisted his body. The three soldiers of the Ming army only felt that their strength was as great as a brute bull, and they were unstable when they landed, and they fell down the city wall in exclamation and died.

The Qing warrior took advantage of the opportunity at the head of the city, with both hands and feet together, and quickly climbed along the ladder, seeing that he was about to jump on the city wall, Han Gon's eyes were fast, and he quickly pulled out the Kaiyuan hard bow, and shot out like a meteor catching the moon. A few steps away, only to hear a snort, the Qing warrior was taking the short knife in his mouth with one hand, and the feather arrow shot head-on from the gap in his wrist to the door, with his heavy body, he instantly slipped down the ladder and died at the base of the wall.

An arrow killed the heavily armed Qing soldiers, and the soldiers of the Ming army at the head of the city cheered and thundered. The Qing army that was following in a big way was in an uproar, not for anything else, but because the Qing warriors who were shot to death by Han Gon on the spot were none other than their Aliha Chao Hajia Lazhangjing.

As soon as the first soldier of Aliha Chaohajia Lazhangjing died, the Qing army seemed to be arrogant and frustrated, and after a while, I saw the Qing army waving the flag and singing gold, and it was unseen to take the initiative to collect troops and retreat.

Han Gon naturally knew that the death of only one general was not enough to force the Qing army to withdraw, so he climbed the tower and looked into the distance, and saw that the black line on the horizon of the plain was wriggling, and thousands of horsemen were rushing towards the city with all their might.